BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER - ALYSON HANNIGAN Interview

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
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Goodbye Buffy!

ALYSON HANNIGAN

HANNIGAN:
Yes, she certainly has.

Q:
What are your thoughts on being one of the founding cast members on this show?

HANNIGAN:
Well, I’m thrilled, obviously it gives me a lot to do, and a lot to play with. It’s awesome. I can’t complain.

Q:
[something about the change to UPN]

Goodbye Buffy!
Goodbye Buffy!

HANNIGAN:
Well, I definitely feel this has been a very exciting year. I don’t knowif that is really necessarily because we moved to UPN or if it’s a coincidence.After 100 episodes, it was time to make sure that it was still exciting and fresh.Whatever they did upstairs, they did it right. This year has been very cool andjust good.

Q:
Why does the series have such a lasting impact? It’s quite an achievement. What are your thoughts?

HANNIGAN:
The writing on the show is just stellar. They’re great. Even our not so great episodes are just really good. It’s far better than a lot of stuff that I’ve done, certainly in my past. That’s where it starts, and then you can just go down the line. We’ve got great actors, an incredible crew, and we’re just really really lucky.

Q:
It’s like a family in a sense.

HANNIGAN:
It is. It is definitely. It’s my family, that’s for sure. The crew, everybody, the cast, we’re like brothers and sisters. It’s really cool, just the evolution of like knowing each other for so long. Now Nick is married, and it’s interesting. It’s really cool.

Q:
What was the musical like? Were you dreading it?

HANNIGAN:
I was dreading it. I was definitely dreading it. It was definitely fun. It was a ton of work, it was the most work we’ve ever done for one episode. It was great, and everybody was totally on board, and now that I see what kind of magic they can do inside the studio, I was like, “I could have a little more confidence going in, and I probably didn’t need to beg Joss not to let me sing. I was like, “I don’t want to sing! I don’t want to sing!” So he gave me as little as possible. But now I know little secrets, so if he does it again, perhaps I can squeak up a little more.

Q:
You had weird outfits; like corsets and stuff.

HANNIGAN:
I wasn’t in a corset. I was in a really comfortable dress.

Q:
(something about the outfits her character wears]

HANNIGAN:
That Willow wears? No, well, the musical, I loved that dress. It was super comfortable. But after you wear it for, I think we shot 15 days of that episode, which is twice as many as we ever do—you wear an outfit that much, you sorta get tired of it. Luckily mine was really, really comfortable. I felt like I was wearing a nightgown, it was so soft.

Q:
Growing up in Atlanta, who did you admire as a role model?

HANNIGAN:
I had people that on my walls and stuff, but they weren’t exactly—I had a crush on Ricky Schroder, and Michael Jackson, I think. As far as a role model, I don’t know. I don’t really remember like—I liked John Lennon and stuff like that. But as far as a role model, I can’t really.

Q:
Do you see yourself as a role model?

HANNIGAN:
I don’t know. I guess somebody could say that, but I don’t know.

Q:
Do you feel a responsibility to your fans?

HANNIGAN:
I think my responsibility is not to be a jerk to them when I meet them. That’s as far as I can go. It’s a personal thing. As far as the roles I choose and what my character does, that’s an evolution that is my career. I can’t look outside of what I want to do or what I think I should do. If I try to choose for people that I don’t even know, I’m obviously always going to disappoint somebody. I think my responsibility to them is to be grateful and to be appreciative of them, and when they’re complimenting me, to not to take that for granted, and not be a bitch.

Q:
Do you have any projects other than the show?

HANNIGAN:
Well, it’s still a little early for summer stuff. I’m just now starting to go in on meetings and read scripts and stuff. I don’t have anything as of yet.

Q:
About Atlanta… you’ve been working very hard these couple of years. Does it seems like even further because of that, or does it seem close to you?

HANNIGAN:
Atlanta?

Q:
Yeah.

HANNIGAN:
Well, I moved out here when I was 11 or 12, so that really has always sort of seemed like my past. California is really my home, and I went to junior high school and high school out here, and that’s where I really formed friendships people. My best friend and I have known each other since we were in 7th or 8th grade. So we were 12 years old. I have a lot of family members in Atlanta, but I don’t think of that as my home. It’s a completely different city than when I lived there. The Olympics has been there, and it’s just enormous now. I just remember it as this sweet little town.

Q:
How aware are you of the cultural impact this series has made, and how does that affect you?

HANNIGAN:
No, it’s a little strange. My boyfriend and I walked into Toys R Us the other night, and there was a game of “BUFFY”, and we were both like, “Wow!” You just don’t even realize that there’s merchandise, certain things. We don’t see it all. It’s strange. We come here every day, and this just doesn’t have any of that in it. It’s definitely a different part of the show. I just feel pretty removed from that.

Q:
Would they involve you in the DVD’s and stuff like that?

HANNIGAN:
I guess. Occasionally, I’ll get the fax saying, “Do you want to do the interview for the DVD?” I come home after a long day, and I’m like, “Ugh, no.” You know, and of course, ten years from now, I’ll be like, “Oh, I should have done that interview. Why?” when I’m buying the DVD for my kid or whatever. I don’t know.

Q:
How would you sum up the lasting legacy of the series?

HANNIGAN:
Wow. I don’t know. I have no idea. I don’t know. I just hope people think that it was a good show.

Q:
Do you get a lot of feedback from your fans?

HANNIGAN:
Oh, definitely, it’s awesome.

Q:
Male or female?

HANNIGAN:
Kind of 50/50. There’s definitely strong male contingents. Yeah, it’s equal. They’re very sweet, and now they’re from all over the world, which is awesome. It’s so cool looking at all the postmarks—“Wow, where’s that?”


Q:
What about doing other projects, like movies?


HANNIGAN:
Right. It’s difficult. Basically, we wait until the hiatus, which starts in April.

Q:
Do you get sent stuff that’s similar to your character in “BUFFY”?

HANNIGAN:
No, I would say mainly I get stuff similar to “AMERICAN PIE”


HANNIGAN:
No. No, I never did. Nope.

Q:
How entwined are you with Willow now?

HANNIGAN:
Yeah, I would say I can turn it on and turn it off on set. I’m pretty easily into, I mean obviously if she’s doing something emotionally draining, that sort of lingers. Those really, really tough emotional days, and you just go home and sleep it off.


Q:
Do you have any fears?

HANNIGAN:
I mean, the only thing that’s close to that is sort of reading a script and going, “Wow, this is really good. I hope I don’t mess it up.” Just when the writing is so stellar, you just think, “Oh man, if this isn’t good, it’s all because of me.” ‘Cause the scripts are great. That’s the only fear I think of.

Q:
Do you have a favorite episode?

HANNIGAN
Favorite episode? I guess maybe the musical. It was fun. It was very sweet, and it was so nice to see everybody put such hard work into it. Every single crew member, every cast member, everyone. So it was really a nice change of pace. It was just something that obviously I’d never done a musical, and the majority of people hadn’t experienced. It was really fun, and it was a good bonding experience.

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